Broken Strings

Eight

Ginger

Art is too important not to share – Romero Britto

"Apparently, Jay Dawson is in Tishomingo," Cassie Warner said as she and Ginger walked through the Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge. "Marnie Evans texted me this morning to say that she saw him driving through town this morning." 

The refuge had been established in 1946 for migratory waterfowl in the Central Flyway and was a popular spot for wildlife spotting and fishing. Crappie and catfish were prominent within the Cumberland Pool – a nutrient-rich shallow watering hole that received inputs from the Washita River and Pennington Creek. The mud flats flooded seasonally, creating habitat for the great blue and green herons and the great and snowyegrets that were commonly found in the refuge. 

The Cumberland Pool was not the only worthwhile habitat to peruse. In addition to the pool, there were grasslands and woodlands filled with towering oak and elm trees, through which white-tailed deer could sometimes be spotted peekingthrough the branches. 

Ginger's favourite time of year to explore the refuge were in the spring and fall, when shorebirds flocked to Oklahoma by the thousands. Once, a few years ago when the autumn leaves were just beginning to turn, she'd managed to snag a photo of a bald eagle hunting along the open waters. 

Now though, as the last of the spring faded eagerly into the summer season, it was the bright plumage of songbirds that Ginger was on the hunt for. She and Cassie walked with quiet purpose through the refuge, Ginger's eyes glancing around the trees and brush for buntings and tanagers. She'd already snapped a photo of a red-shoulderedhawk in flight and the rush of a good photograph kept her eager for more. 

Which was why it took her a moment to processwhat Cassie had said. "Jay Dawson? The actor?" 

Cassie rolled her teal-coloured eyes and let out a sigh of long-suffering. "Yes. Who else would I be talking about? How many Jay Dawson's do you know?" 

"Technically zero. Same as you. The closest you've ever come to meeting Jay Dawson is from the cover of a magazine." 

"A girl can dream." Cassie sighed again, but this time the soundwas more wistful. "I bet he's here for Bailey. All of the celebrities that come to town are here for her." 

"Well, that's because she's the only celebrityin town." Ginger raised her camera as a beltedkingfisher went fluttering past – but it was gone too quickly for her to get aphoto. "Damn." 

"Still," Cassie said and Ginger lookedover as her best friend shook her long red hair out of a braid. "It'd be nice if just one eligible guy looked my way. You snagged Travis just by pouring coffee. I can cook like a sun of a gun and nothing. If you were a good friend, you'd use those connections of yours to introduce me to all of Bailey's famous friends." 

Ginger bit back a smile. "Firstly, Travis hardly knows when Bailey's 'famous friends' are coming to town. They just pop up, stay a weekend, and then vanish. If Jay Dawson really is in the area, he'll probably do the same. Besides, I don't know why you're so caught up in this. You're heading to New York in the fall. Lots of eligible guys there. Including famous ones." 

Cassie considered this. Since they'd graduated from high school, she'd been working in restaurants across the county, trying to save up money and gain enough experience to make it into culinary school. Now that she had enough in the bank, a scholarship, and an acceptance letter to one of the best culinary institutes inthe country, she was getting the hell out of their small town. 

She kept trying to pressure Ginger into joining her in the Big Apple – a tempting offer that Ginger had almost accepted on more than one occasion. But she hadn't wanted to go without a plan and though she'd continued looking at all of the photography schools in New York as if they were a yellow-brick road to freedom, she hadn't yet applied anywhere. Not like it mattered. She'd missed all ofthe deadlines for the upcoming year.